Imagine St. George’s Square as a lively year-round destination—a place that offers a broad range of activities, experiences, and entertainment.
The City of Guelph invites all interested community members to participate in an interactive public workshop on Wednesday, October 23 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Participants will have the opportunity to provide input into rethinking the square as an important public space and review suggested improvement options for key Downtown streets.
Building on the success of Market Square and Carden Street, the two and a half hour workshop will explore applying the same design principles to revitalize St. George’s Square and improve surrounding streetscapes so they become flexible, adaptable, and multi functional.
Input received at the workshop, which builds on the Placemaking workshop held last March and the Streetscape workshop held in June, will be used to develop a vision, program, and activation plan for key areas of the Downtown.
“There is a strong desire from the community and downtown businesses to re-imagine St. George’s Square. As a key public space in Guelph, the square needs to be great to achieve our goal of shaping a new, progressive Downtown Guelph,” says Ian Panabaker, corporate manager of Downtown Renewal, adding, “We want to hear ideas on how the physical design of the square could better support intensification and activation of the Downtown core.”
Following the workshop, consultant Brook McIlroy will develop a final concept plan for St. George’s Square, including estimated costs, to be part of the updated Downtown Streetscape Manual and Built Form Standards. The two technical documents are part of a larger implementation strategy to shape a new, progressive Downtown that builds on a number of initiatives guided by the Downtown Secondary Plan adopted by Council in 2012.